Sunday, November 28, 2004

Walking After Midnight

Sleepwalking can be a dangerous thing. I've heard stories about people who
sleepwalk out of their house and board trains to wake up hundreds of miles from
home with no memory of how they got there. Knock on wood, that's never
happened to me.

I have sleptwalked, though. It started when I was little. I would get up and
get ready for school, waking Mom up who would have to undress me and get me
back in bed because it was 2am. I used to walk out into the living room and
just start speaking gibberish, forcing Mom or Dad to take me back to bed. In
the morning, they'd tell me about my nighttime wanderings and I wouldn't
remember a thing.

A couple I do recall, though. Once, I got out of bed in a panic because my
gloves were too tight. It seems that I was dreaming that I was wearing fancy,
elbow-length gloves and they were so tight that they were cutting off my
circulation. I could really feel the pressure and it wasn't until Mom got me
back into bed and pretended to roll the gloves off of me that I was able to
relax and close my eyes again. What was wierd was that I could actually feel
her taking the gloves off! I think I was about 8 or so then.

Another time I kinda came to as I was walking towards my closet, thumping around
like one leg was shorter than the other. I opened my closet and started to
root about frantically. Of course, I was making so much noise that Mom came to
investigate. "What are you looking for," she asked. "My other shoe. I can't
find it and I need it to go to Rhonda's," was my answer. "Which shoe are you
looking for?" By now, Mom had learned to take my bizarre nighttime advnetures
in stride.

"Your old blue shoe with the buckle." When I was little, Mom had given me two
pairs of her old shoes to play dress-up with. My favorite pair were these navy
pumps with big buckles on the front. That's what I was looking for. In my
head, I had found one and had it on, hence the reason I was stumping around. I
had one heel on and one off! And I just COULDN'T go to Rhonda's without the
other. I seriously believed I was shoe-deprived! I could feel that shoe on my
foot - why didn't Mom understand???

It's been a while (that I know of) that I've done any sleepwalking like that.
I know I did it about three weeks ago, though. When I went to bed, I had a
glass of milk. When I finished it, I put it on the nightstand by my bed. When
I woke up that afternoon, the glass was in the bathroom. I'd like to believe
that a ghost placed it there for giggles but I know the truth.

I also tend to talk in my sleep quite a bit but that's best left for another
post!


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Saturday, November 27, 2004

Quiz Results

Thanks to the three people that attempted the quiz! Derek won with a whopping 9 1/2 points, Collin was 2nd with 6 1/2 and El Sid came in with 4 points.

Here are the answers:

1. Gloria Jones sang the original "Tainted Love." She was dating (& had a son with) Marc Bolan of T. Rex. She was driving the car that killed him. Oops.

2. Eric Carmen was the lead singer for The Raspberries.

3. Slash's real name is Saul Hudson.

4. Samantha 7 is CC's side band and worth checking out. He sings lead.

5. The Iveys were the first band which later were Badfinger.

6. Steve Howe had a brief stint with Asia.

7. Izzy Stradlin is the only one still live & kicking. Tim Kelly was killed in a car accident, Robbin Crosby died of AIDS and Steve Clark from alcohol.

8. John Taylor's wife is the founder of Juicy Couture.

9. a-ha is from Norway.

10. Peter Boyle from Young Frakenstein and Everybody Loves Raymond was John Lennon's best man.

11. The Doors' "Peace Frog" was based on a Jim Morrison poem about abortion.

12. Rosanna Arquette.

13. U2 filmed their video at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO.

14. Def Leppard filmed their video at McNichols Arena (RIP) in Denver, CO.

15. Skid Row's "Slave To The Grind" was the first "heavy metal" album to debut at #1.

16. Little Eva was Gerry Goffin's babysitter. He co-wrote "The Locomotion" for her after hearing her sing.

17. Wicked Cherry is not (yet) a real band.

18. Jason Newsted was in Flotsam & Jetsam before Metallica.

19. Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Penn Ritchie.

That was fun. I'll do another one soon...probably on movies next time, though!!


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Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Music Fun Fun Fun!

I've decided to make a music quiz. You must all take it! Answer in the
comments and I'll check the answers and announce the winner on Friday. HAVE
FUN!!

1. Who originially recorded "Tainted Love?" (Bonus: Who was she dating at
the time?)

2. What band was Eric Carmen the frontman for?

3. What is Slash's (Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver guitarist) real name?

4. What is the name of CC DeVille's (Poison's guitarist) side band?

5. Who was the first BAND to be signed to The Beatles' Apple Records?

6. Yes guitar wizard Steve Howe was in what band in the 80's?

7. Which hair band member is still alive:
a) Tim Kelly (Slaughter)
b) Robbin Crosby (Ratt)
c) Izzy Stradlin (Guns N Roses)
d) Steve Clark (Def Leppard)
Bonus: How did the 3 deceased die?

8. Duran Duran bassist John Taylor is married to the founder of what fashion
line?

9. Which band is NOT from Sweden:
a) The Cardigans
b) Ace Of Base
c) Roxette
d) a-ha

10. What actor was the best man at John Lennon's wedding to Yoko?

11. What is the subject of the The Doors' song "Peace Frog?"

12. What actress is Toto's "Rosanna" written about?

13. U2's video for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was filmed at what legendary concert
venue?

14. Def Leppard's video for "Pour Some Sugar On Me" was filmed where?

15. What was the first "heavy metal" album to debut at #1 on Billboard?

16. How was Little Eva of "Locomotion" fame discovered?

17. Which band name is fake:
a) Bubble Puppy
b) Skinny Puppy
c) Wicked Lester
d) Wicked Cherry

18. Jason Newsted was in what band before he replaced Cliff Burton in
Metallica?

19. What is Madonna's FULL name (middle names, last names, EVERYTHING!)

And don't forget to check out another new post below! Have a good day!! :)


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My Opinion

Rolling Stone Magazine recently released it's Top 100 Rock N Roll Songs Of All Time.
Here's the top 10...see if you agree with their choices:

10. What I Say - Ray Charles
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
8. Hey Jude - The Beatles
7. Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry
6. Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
5. Respect - Aretha Franklin
4. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
3. Imagine - John Lennon
2. Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones
1. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

So there they are. What do you think? I think the list is poop. It's just
someone's opinion. Who's to say that those really ARE the best 10 songs EVER?
Not me!! I like most of the songs on there but the top 2 seem to have been
chosen for the magazine. Anyway, this list bugs me so I made my own Top 10
Best Rock N Roll Songs Ever List, just to feel vindicated. I know no one else
will agree with me but that's okay - that's not what I'm looking for.

10. Dancing In The Moonlight - King Harvest
9. Don't Believe A Word - Thin Lizzy
8. Breakin' Down - Skid Row
7. C'Mon & Love Me - Kiss
6. Mr Brownstone - Guns N Roses
5. Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
4. Let Me Take You Home Tonight - Boston
3. Radar Love - Golden Earring
2. Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealer's Wheel
1. Timeless - Badfinger

That's my list. It's only rock songs, though, or else there would be some No Doubt,
Roxette, Sarah McLachlan, etc on there. Maybe one day I'll do a list of ALL songs!


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Friday, November 19, 2004

Wicked Style

Tuesday!!!

That's the day that Love Angel Music Baby comes out. It's Gwen Stefani's first solo album and I'm soooooo excited about it. Except that I'll have to wait til Christmas for it. But that's okay - it'll be worth the wait.

See, Gwen's my hero. Heroine? Whatever...that's what she is.



She's why I dyed my hair pink. She's why I want to be a singer, especially in a ska band. I saw her a couple years ago on the Rock Steady tour and she was amazing!

Her new single is called What You Waiting For and it's awesome! Check it out! In the meantime, here's the lyrics:

What an amazing time
What a family
How did the years go by
Now it's only me

Tick-tock, tick-tock
Tick-tock, tick-tock
Tick-tock, tick-tock
Tick-tock, tick-tock
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Like a cat in heat, stuck in a moving car
A scary conversation, shut my eyes, can't find the brake
What if they say that you're a climber
Naturally, I'm worried if I do it alone
Who really cares, cause it's your life
You never know, it could be great
Take a chance cause you might grow
Oh, ah, oh

What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting for

What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting for

Tick-tock, tick-tock
Tick-tock, tick-tock
Take a chance you stupid ho

Like an echo pedal, you're repeating yourself
You know it all by heart
Why are you standing in one place
Born to blossom, bloom to perish
Your moment will run out
Cause of your sex chromosome
I know it's so messed up, how our society all thinks (for sure)
Life is short, you're capable (uh-huh)

Oh, ah, oh
Look at your watch now
You're still a super hot female
You got your million-dollar contract
And they're all waiting for your hot track

What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting for

What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting for

I can't wait to go back and do Japan
Get me lots of brand new fans
Osaka, Tokyo
You Harajuku girls
Damn, you've got some wicked style

Go

Look at your watch now
You're still a super hot female
You got your million dollar contract
And they're all waiting for your hot track

What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting for

What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting
What you waiting for

What you waiting for
What you waiting for

(What you waiting for)
Take a chance you stupid ho
Take a chance you stupid ho

What you waiting for
What you waiting for

(What you waiting for)
Take a chance you stupid ho
Take a chance you stupid ho


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Thursday, November 18, 2004

In The Pig Pen

I've always had very bizarre, very vivid dreams but the one I had two days ago is still making me laugh.

I was in a pig sty, ankle-deep in mud. Derek & Collin were in there with me but they were on the other side, chasing piglets. I don't know what they were planning but I'm sure it's best that I never found out.

Where I was was a large black sow. She was the mama of the piglets that the guys were terrorizing. For some reason, I looked down at the pig, clapped my hands and yelled "Pigga pigga pigga!!!" and the pig started hopping up & down. I was so amazed that I called Derek & Collin over and showed them the trick. She didn't hop quite as enthusiastically as the first time but she did hop. But the only time she would do it was when I clapped and hollered the "pigga pigga pigga" chant.

I tried to look the images up in my dream dictionary but they weren't very helpful.


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Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Rah Rah Rah

I've mentioned before that I was a cheerleader when I was in junior high and
high school. The jr high cheering was fun but high school pretty much sucked.
It was an actual class - 4th period, I think. We worked on learning new cheers
and formations and general healthiness. I know we had weekly trips to the gym
to work with weights. That was good - I needed the strength training since I
was ALWAYS on the bottom of any formation. Need a pyramid? Guess who one of
the three girls on the bottom will be? Need a base for some spry skinny
cheerleader? Get Heather. That's one of the reasons for my bad knees today -
too many people climbing on my back.

One cool thing about the JV Cheerleading squad that I was on: We were the
first squad to EVER win a trophy at the state cheerleading championships. We
went to Denver and competed with a ton of other perky chicks (& a few perky
guys) and kicked some major booty! I do remember that we were instructed to
wear banana combs in our hair - I had real short hair then, nothing that a
banana comb would fit in and the stupid sponsor women tried to put one in my
hair anyway, just so we would all be uniform! DUH!!!

I was kicked off that team, though. See, one of the rules in cheerleading was
that if you missed 3 games, you were gone. Weeellll....I didn't drive, both my
parents worked, we weren't allowed to ride on the buses with the players (even
though I did, once...football team, I think. The coach made an exception for
me) so HOW THE BLAZES WAS SUPPOSED TO GET TO PUEBLO?????? To cheer for the
dumb swimming team? Ugh!

Jr. high was MUCH more fun. A lot of my friends were on the squad, including
Billie Jo who was the only girl that could do the splits and kick so high that
one day she popped herself in the nose with her knee and about knocked herself
out! Then there was Renee who, while visiting Janitell Jr High, got smacked in
the face with a basketball so when we did the Hello Cheer, it went something
like this:

ALL: We are the Spartans and we're here to say hello!

ME: Heather! (pause...jerk my head towards Renee cuz [duh!] someone was
standing on my back) That's Renee!

All I remember is everyone laughed at that stunt!

I was talking about cheerleading a while back while going through my mom's high
school yearbooks. I told her that when I was little I thought for sure she
should have been a cheerleader. She said that, no, she was too shy and she was
sure surprised when I mentioned I was going to go out for the squad. BUT!!
She also admitted that she didn't want me to cuz she didn't want me to be
crushed when I didn't make it. Notice the use of the word "when" and not "if."
Oh, ye of little faith, Mom.


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Friday, November 12, 2004

The Heirarchy Of Cuss-Words

Where: In the Aerostar
When: Maybe about 1990
Who: Me, Derek, Mom & Dad
What: How to REALLy mean it when you cuss.

Scene - driving in Security. Mom is at the wheel and someone has just cut her off in traffic.

MOM: Shit!
DAD: Karen!!
D & H: Mom!!
MOM: What? I didn't really cuss. It's only cussing if you say 'you' at the end.
DAD: So I can say 'baby shit' and it's okay cuz I didn't say "baby shit on you?'
MOM: That's not what I meant!

_________

***Bonus***

My mom was in the process of yelling at my dad, telling him to take better care of his health. And I quote: "If you die, I'll haunt you!! wait..."


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Thursday, November 11, 2004

McDonalds by any other name...

I love how little kids make up their own names for things. It always makes me smile.

Tuesday night Collin came to work to have dinner with me and he brought his 4 year old daughter with him. She wanted to go to "Sh-shlotzky's" for pizza so we headed that way but found when we arrived that they had changed their hours and they closed at 8pm. It was 8:02. Bummer. So in search of pizza for Jordyn, we went to Fazoli's. Afterwards, she told her dad that she had been "real good at Sha-Louie's."

Fast forward to last night. Cast of characters remains the same. We were planning on Popeye's but suddenly Chick-Fil-A sounded better so Collin pulled a "Uwe" and we headed towards Chick-Fil-A. We were, by design, also heading towards Little Caesar's Pizza and Jordyn knew this. She asked if we were going to "Little Weaslers." We laughed and Collin said, "No, we're going to Chick-Fil-A."

"Chickle-A?" We tried three times to get her to say it right but she insisted on Chickle-A. I started listing all the restaurants she said funny.

"So, there's Mick-At-Donalds, Sh-shlotzky's, Sha-Louie's, Little Weaslers and Chickle-A," I said. From the backseat piped, "DON'T FORGET BURGER KING!!!"


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Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Whatcha Gonna Do?

The following is from the CSPD blotter. It happened yesterday afternoon/evening.




Sand Creek shift III received information that multiple stolen vehicles were being dropped off in the parking lot of 1009 Alexander Rd. Further information was that possible suspects were staying in apt #8 at that location. Surveillance was established when stolen vehicles were located in the parking lot. Officers contacted three individuals leaving the apartment and notified detectives. The investigation is continuing, however, evidence has been collected tying the individuals to multiple BMV, Auto Thefts, Check Forgeries, and Identity Thefts


Now.

I take this bust very personally. Not because (knock on wood & point like Fred) that I've had my car stolen or my identity but because this bust blocked Circle Drive between Airport & Fountain which is right in the middle of my route to work! So, I was late getting there because I had to take a detour. Yeah, sure, the CSPD is just doing their job and bully for them, really, but couldn't they have done this AFTER I'd gotten to work? I mean, c'mon!


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Take A Ride

Hey! Just a quick note - there's a new post on Smarter By Myself. Hop on over there and check it out!


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Tuesday, November 09, 2004

In The Midnight Hour

Last night at midnight, the long awaited video game Halo 2 came out. They started selling it at midnight. I know this because my Collin rushed out to get it at midnight!

I used to go to Media Play & Independent Records for midnight releases when Christina worked here with me. But that was 2 years ago... the last CD I bought at a midnight sale was either Rob Zombie or Britney Spears. But anyway, the thought of Collin all half-asleep in line for Halo 2 made me remember when I stood in line all night for concert tickets. The one & only time.

This was about 12 years ago or so. Garth Brooks was coming to town and by this time he was HUGE. So huge in fact that we have to drop the 'h' & make it UGE! Anyway, my best friend Troy was adamant that we go even though we had already seen him twice. I had to close Fargo's that night so he would meet me there at 11pm and we would jaunt across the street to the Citadel Mall where Foley's was. Foley's was (and still is) a TicketMaster outlet.

This was the day of first come first serve in concert ticket sales instead of the number systems and the online sales they do now. When Troy & I got there at 11:20pm or so, there were already about 20 people waiting in the mall parking lot in their cars. When midnight rolled around, mall security came & told us all that we weren't allowed on the premises until 5am. Gack! 5 hours to wait? By that time, other Garth fans would be awake and ready to steal my place in line!! But, we couldn't argue so we drove across the way and parked in an apartment complex parking lot and listened to the radio.

One thing I remember about this time was that I mentioned that I wanted to hear Trisha Yearwood's "She's In Love With The Boy." Next song was "She's In Love With The Boy!" Amazed by my luck, I then told the radio that I wanted to hear "Something In Red" by Lorrie Morgan. It played next! I was shocked! I was psychically controlling the station's playlist. The next song I asked for was George Strait's "The Fireman" but my streak ended there!

Anyway...at one point, some guys talked us all into sneaking onto the mall grounds and hiding behind some bushes. We actually did it but git chased away by the ever-vigilant security. So, we decided to go across the street to I-Hop for some breakfast with about 7 or 8 of the other people that were waiting. It was obvious that Troy & I were the only ones there who were actually interested in seeing Garth Brooks. The others were scalpers. They openly admitted this.

5 am finally arrived and we ran like madmen across the parking lot. The line formed so fast I got pushed out of it and was left standing on the sidewalk, bewildered. Luckily, one of the scalpers we had had breakfast with grabbed me and put me in front of him. Troy managed to secure a spot about three people ahead of me.

Foley's didn't open until 9am. That was a long long loooonnnngggg 4 hour wait. I remember finally getting in to get the tickets and the printer broke. We got a receipt but no tickets; we had to come back later that afternoon and pick them up. Troy got pretty bad seats - we gave these to somebody that I worked with, I think. I ended up with great seats, about 10 rows up from the back of the stage. They weren't so hot for Martina McBride, who was the opening act, because it was her first major concert EVER and she was scared and never moved from in front of the microphone. Garth, however, was all over the stage and put on a great show.

That was the last concert that they allowed people to wait in line like that for, I think. After that they started the lottery thing. But at least I got to experience it once in my life!


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Monday, November 08, 2004

It's Only Because I Care

I'm totally swamped at work tonight. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya why: we have 13 people on our shift and guess how many are here tonight? Go on, guess! No...more. No, less...oh...I'll just tell you.

6.

Yep. 6. 6 un-sick, un-surgeryed, un-vacationing, un-military employees. SO! I'm running around on three different floors running unfamiliar machines but because I like you all...I REALLY do!...I'm going to leave you with a few quotes from a book Collin picked up for me this weekend called Quotable Pop. Enjoy!

"I didn't understand one thing Salvador Dali said. He speaks three languages that I don't speak. All we understood was that we didn't understand each other. He likes that. He's into total confusion. He says I'm his favorite example of total confusion."
- Alice Cooper, 1973

"It's BTO - they're Canada's answer to ELP. Their big hit was TCB. That's how we talked in the 70's. We didn't have a moment to spare."
- Homer Simpson

"The first track is called 'I Wanna Live.' And the last line of 'Worm Man', the last song is "I wish I was dead.' I guess it's a real conceptual album."
- Joey Ramone, 1987

More of these fun quotes to come!!


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Thursday, November 04, 2004

Ends & Odds

First off, a big THANK YOU to Collin for designing my new header! I love it
- it's so colorful and perky!! Big hugs & kisses thrown his way for that! Now
I feel I'm "in" with the cool kids who have nifty headers!! :D

I showed the header to Mom yesterday, who had already seen it when she logged
on the night before, and when I asked what she thought of it, she said it was
"well done, artistically but she needed a swimsuit on." She felt this was a
"public forum" and shouldn't have naked, green, striped boobies out there for
everyone to see! THEN, when I mentioned that I had originally suggested a
characiture of me like Derek & Collin have in their headers, she gasped and
said, "The naked mermaid is YOU?" *sigh* No, it's not me! At least, I don't
think so.

So...thanks again, Collin! You rock, baby!


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All My Cats...

I was sitting at work talking to the new lady about cats and I realized that I missed mine a lot and decided that I would write a little about each one. So here goes:

RUSTY - He was the first cat I ever had...I got him when I was 3...don't know where he came from. He was a Morris-type cat, a yellow tabby. I went to pet him one day while he was eating and he bit me on the arm. I got ringworm from it so Mom took him to the Humane Society.

After that, Derek was diagnosed as being allergic to cats so it was never a possibility that I would have another cat as long as we lived in the same house. But one day...

RITA - We've both blogged about her before. She was beautiful! She appeared on our porch one day and took over our house. Gray & white with emerald green eyes...my favorite story about her was the morning I was sleeping through my alarm and I finally woke to see Rita standing on my chest...she was alternately licking my forehead then meowing and pawing at the alarm clock's snooze button! She knew which button to use to turn it off but she couldn't quite get it! I really miss her!! She was named after the character Rita on "Animaniacs."

MIDNIGHT - She was originally gotten as a kitten by my ex-brother-in-law. She's a black persian-tabby mix with sea green eyes and a white star on her chest & tummy. She's very royal and believes that if you have her, you should have no other cat! When Scott & Becky were moving, they couldn't take her so I got to. She loved to be up high and would climb anything she could. When she was a baby she would climb the Christmas tree so Scott would spray her with water to get her to stop. She loved the water so much that she would climb the tree just to get sprayed! After that when I would takes baths, she would sit on the edge of the tub and dangle her tail in the water.

CHAZZ - My favorite cat ever! The absolute cutest cat that has ever lived, bar none! One day I'll post pics of him so you can all agree with me! :) Pure tabby, he's blonde and black striped with green eyes, a white chest and feet, a white stripe on his pink nose that's outlined in black and freckles! I got him through a guy I worked with at Fargo's. He has a toe fettish - he loves to lick toes! He was also very torturable...by this I mean that he hated to be picked up and carried around but he would let me do it. Sometimes he would lay in my arms like a baby. I named him Chazz after the actor Chazz Palmienteri.

CLAUDE LEMEW - Mean little bugger but she loved me. I rescued her from certain death when she was found outside of Fargo's as a kitten - she fit in my palm she was so small. It was sleeting and she was shivering. I took her home and she proceeded to have a ton of kittens! Her first batch gave me Valeri, Daze, Mario & Teemu. I gave them all away eventually but Mario & Teemu stayed with me for about three years. Claude was named after the ex-Avalanche player because of her attitude. She loved to sleep with me. She would lay on me while I slept and if I rolled over, she would walk me like a log until I settled down again. Her second batch of kitties was Jazz, Jade, Jet & Jewel. I gave 2 away and 2 died. Her thrid and final batch was Zoe, Alice, Anya & Jinx. Zoe & Jinx didn't make it and Anya was given to Heather's twin sister Shannon. But...

ALICE - she was known around the house as "Rittle Tiny Owlrice." That was the only way you could get her to come to you when you called her. She was the runt of the last litter and even at 6 years old she was about the size of a year old cat. She, like her mother, was pure black. She had a tiny little head and these huge amber eyes that made her look like an alien. She would talk to you, too. You'd say her "name" and she'd cock her head, look at you and meow right back. She was named after Alice Cooper but sometimes I'd tell her she was named after Alice In Wonderland.

MURPHY - Murphy Von Smurphy. A very cool cat. He's Maine Coon, about 12 pounds of cat. Big ol' paws and the sweetest face. He loved to be held like a baby. He would get mushy for me and come paw at my legs until I picked him up then he'd settle himself over my left shoulder (always the left. If I tried to put him on my right he's move back to the left.) and hang there until he either got tired or I had to put him down. He was scared to death of Claude even though he outweighed her by 6 pounds or so. He'd see her coming and scurry out of the way. Murphy came to me through an old friend of Jeff's, Mary King, who's no longer with us.

So those were my kitties. I miss them all...especially Rita & Chazz. When I get the chance, I'll post pics of them all!
---
Update by Collin: Here's one of the pictures of Chazz that you gave me back when I was trying to talk my mom into taking him.



And here's one of Murphy and Chazz



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Tuesday, November 02, 2004

And Now Your Treat!!

In the Colorado Springs Gazette, we have a section entitled Back Pages. It
has little blurbs of news that actually appeared in the Gazette 50, 75 & 100
years ago. I always try to read these because sometimes they're just flat out
funny!

One time there was a blurb about some poor child who attended the School for
the Deaf & Blind who fell during music class against the corner of the piano
and "popped his eyeball right out." Seriously, that's how it was written! I
can only hope that this kid was one of the blind. How horrible if he was deaf
and then went blind from that eye poppin' clean out!

So, anyway, yesterday's 75 years ago was this:

"Comparison of records made by shorthand writers appears to prove that American
speech gains 10 words a minute every 20 years. Americans may not express any
more or better thoughts in the same length of time, but they get more words
out."

And that was 75 years ago!! Imagine what talkative little cretins we are
today!!


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Tricks of the Trade

Happy Halloween!! Hope everyone has a good night and gets lots of candy! As
for me, I've mentioned in many comment boxes that I'll be going to the Broncos/
Falcons game. Yay for me! It's supposed to be blody cold and maybe even snow.
Yeah, that's perfect football weather - sitting in the infamous South Stands
all bundled up yelling at the Broncos, eating your Thunderdog...God, I can't
wait!

But!

The purpose of my post is that with Halloween approaching, I started thinking
about all the different costumes I had over the years. The first one I
remember was in 2nd grade, I was an alien. I had the Deely-Boppers with silver
stars at the end and Mom wrapped me in tinfoil.

I was a ballerina, a flapper, a belly dancer (although the assistant principal
made me wear a camisole under the top because in those days [listen to me
sounding like Monkey!] exposing your abdomen in school was frowned upon!), a
50's girl with a construction paper poodle stapled to a skirt (last minute
costume) and Wonder Woman among others.

One year, Derek, Rhonda & I all had this great idea: we would be vampires for
Halloween and have a coffin that we could rise from when we said "Trick Or
Treat." It was gonna be SWELL! We worked for the whole month of October at
Rhonda's house building a coffin out of boards that her dad brought home for
us. We attached it to our wagon and decided that we would take turns laying in
it. We were sooooo excited!! Halloween night arrived. I think Rhonda was the
first one in the coffin. We pulled out of her driveway and rolled up to the
Guzik's house next door. We didn't even make it halfway up the driveway before
the whole thing fell apart! So there we were in mediocre vampire costumes and
no gimmick! But it didn't stop us from getting candy!

When I worked a Fargo's, we were allowed to dress up. Most girls jumped at
this opportunity so we could get away from wearing the restricting Victorian
dress we were required to wear. One year my friend Christina & I dressed up as
corpses. She wore black jeans and a white t-shirt with fake blood all over,
powder make-up and bandages all over her. I wore black jeans and a tie-dyed
skull t-shirt. I put my hair up in curls that fell around my head and inserted
little plastic spider rings into it then wrapped a big rubber snake around my
neck. I was in charge of handing out pizzas that day - it was amazing how many
people would not take their order from me because they were either scared of
snakes or spiders or both!

My last year there, I dressed up as Maleficent, the evil queen from Disney's
Sleeping Beauty. I bought the costume at The Disney Store so it was all
authentic looking. I made up my face to look green and did my eyes so they
looked high & arched and painited my lips blood red. I looked awesome! One
little kid walked in, took one look at me and ran out crying! One little boy
came up to me while I was cleaning the salad bar and asked if I was poisoning
it. I told him, "You'll never know until you have some salad." He ran away
with fear in his eyes! That was fun!

I haven't dressed up since. The reason is...I don't have a reason. I work now
in a static free environment so it's useless to wear a costume. The ESD safe
smock would just cover it up. But it's fun to remember the old days...and eat
candy while I'm doing it! :)


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